A Fate Worse than Death
by zeusypuppydog
Summary: Summer McGann is a 12 year old girl who has to survive in the world of The Walking Dead. She will face many challenges, deaths, and emotional destruction, but in the end, will she survive?


"Come on Scarlet!" i yelled for the hundreth time. this stupid horse just didnt want to cooperate today. I circled her at a walk and started heading back up to the barn. "You win." I sighed. We walked up the long road and I started thinking about hhow I could've done better when suddenly Scarlet stopped almost knocking me off. "Hey! What was that fo-" i started angrily. Before I could finish my sentence I heard a moan. I looked up. There, right in front of me, was something, no someone, so horrific I almost screamed. It was a person, but not a person. Its skin was a dead gray color with parts tearing off, exposing the muscle and flesh. It started towards me at a fast shuffle. i screamed as Scarlet reared and threw me to the ground and bolted. I cursed the horse under my breath through gritted teeth as i crawled backwards. The creature kept coming, moaning while chomping its jaw. i stumbled and fell on my back as a shard of broken glass peirced my palm. i yelped in pain and terror as the creature advanced towards me. Just as I had given up, the creature stopped and collapsed with an arrow through its head. I clutched my hand and gritted my teeth as a man came up behind me. He looke to be about 35, He had a beard and shaggy brown hair, he carried a crossbow on his back and an arrow in his mouth. He ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and tied it around my wrist, which was bleeding a lot more than I thought it was. My eyes went wide at the sight of my palm and I looked up at the man, terrified of everything that had just happened. He glanced at me and then stood up to retrieve the arrow from the thing's head. i scrambled to my knees and looked around for any more of those things. "Wh- what was that thing?" i asked weakly. "I dont know." He answered gruffly. "All I know is that it's the third one ive seen. Saw one take down a deer while I was hunting. the other i just figured id kill, considering it looked like a flesh eating man." He said looking out in the woodds. "We best be going. Dont wanna run into any more do you?" He asked. I shook my head and painfully got up. I had probably broken something when I fell of Scarlet. Scarlet. I felt a pang of sadness. The last thing i ever said to her was yelling at her... And now she's as good as dead. I walked with the man into the woods, flinching with every painful footstep. "Whats your name?" I asked the man, looking up at him. "Daryl. Daryl Dixon." He replied simply. "Hey! Baby brother, look what i got us!" A voice hollered. I jumped and hid behind Daryl as the older man trampled through the bushes, a dead bunny swinging from his hand. "Mmm-mm! I love rabbit in the morning!" He sighed. Daryl glared at him and pushed me out from behind him. The older man was about 45, with buzzed grey hair, a stubbly beard and a gun on his back. "Well, well, well what have we got here?" He said, crouching down and smiling wickedly. I backed away a few steps and tripped over a root, landing on my injured hand. i gasped and pulled my hand away from the ground and looked at it. The older man laughed and stood up. "Where did you find her? Crying for her mommy on the road?" He said with a fake pout then burst out laughing. I jumped up and walked over to him, growling under my breath. "How about you try getting thrown off a horse, almost getting eaten by some monster, then getting a peice of glass stuck in your hand!? See how you like it!" I yelled angrily. He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Well hey there sunshine, I didnt mean no harm!" He said. "Youll get a peice of bloody glass in your eye if you dont shut your damn mouth!" I said as I stalked away. "Who the hell is this kid?" The older man asked, annoyed. "I dont know! I figured I'd save her life if i could though!" Daryl yelled angrily. I kicked at a stick a few feet away, not wanting to get involved in an argument. "Hey kid! Whats your name?" Daryl asked. "Summer." I mumbled. "Who's that guy?" I asked pointing at a the older man. "He's Merle," Daryl said. He leaned down and whispered in my ear,"Watch out for him. He ain't the brightest bulb." He said, grinning. i giggled and glanced at Merle. "What'd you say about me!?" Merle demanded. "We said you're a simple-minded piece of shit." Daryl said nonchalantly as he walked away. I laughed and followed him with Merle grumbling behind us. "Hey listen!" I called. "what is it?" Daryl whispered, crouching down next to me. In the distance I heard screams and car horns blaring. "Shit." Daryl whispered as he stood up. He loaded his crossbow and glanced at me. "Do you have anything?" He asked. "Um, no.." I said, looking at my feet. "I've never used a weapon..." I mumbled. "Aww, poor little Summer can't defend herself!" Merle pouted. I picked up a rock and whipped it at him, grimacing from using my still freshly wounded hand. "Hey!" He yelled as the rock hit him on the side of his head. "There's more where that came from if you dont shut your mouth." i said, glaring at him. He yanked his gun of his back and pointed it at me. "You better watch your mouth sunshine." He growled. Daryl immediatly pointed his crossbow at Merle. "Dont you point that at her." He growled back. Merle looked suprised and lowered his gun. "You'd rather kill me than let her be killed?" He gasped. "I never said that. But that doesn't mean I'm just gonna let you kill her!" He yelled. I backed up slowly, trying to get away from Merle. I did not like it when he was angry. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I shreiked and spun around. There, right in front of me, was another monster. I spun on my heel and ran towards Daryl. "Kill it! Kill it!" I screamed. Merle and Daryl whipped there heads toward me. Merle lowered his gun and laughed. Daryl aimed at the monster and fired, shooting it in the head. I glared at Merle. "Fuck you! this is all your fault! if you hadnt pointed that damn gun at my head I wouldn't have run into that son of a bitch!" I yelled. "Calm down! I was just kidding around!" he said. I grabbed the pistol from Daryl's bag and aimed it at him. "How's this for kidding around!?" I hissed viciously. Daryl grabbed the pistol from my hand and jammed it back in the bag. "Knock it off!" he growled. "both of you!" I glared at both of them and stormed away. "Whatever. Let's just go." i mumbled.


End file.
